I open my eyes and immediately shield them with my arm from the fluorescent lights that are glaring down at me. Wait, fluorescent lights? Where the hell am I?

I blink a few times and notice I appear to be in an emergency room, hospital gown and all. "What am I...?"

"You're in the hospital, Cat. You fainted." I see William sitting next to me. "You gave Alex quite a scare."

"Alex?" I look around and still feel a bit disoriented. "Where is he?"

"He left when I got here. He said he had to get back to the event because you had stuff you hadn't finished yet."

"The fundraiser?!" I try to push myself up but immediately feel dizzy and lay back against the pillows.

"Alex has got it covered, Cat. You have nothing to worry about. He promised he'd be back as soon as the trucks came to pick up the rentals."

"How did you end up here?"

"Alex called me immediately after the ambulance came and picked you up to tell me what hospital they were taking you to. I rushed right over, of course. Alex stayed by your side until I got here to take his place. He didn't want to leave you alone. He didn't tell me much since he was pressed for time, needing to get back to campus. What caused you to black out, Cat? Do you know?" 

"I'm afraid I know as much as you. I don't even remember fainting. We were at the fundraiser, it was all over... and then..."

The memories come back like snapshots in my mind. Alex and the apron. Olivia telling me about Liam. Liam wanting to fight Alex, demanding I come home with him. My hands cover my eyes. I just don't want to see anymore, but as these images are in my mind's eye, so there is little I can do to make them stop.

"Liam!" I say.

"What about him?"

"He was there. He started some trouble with Alex. He's got the nerve to be mad at me when he's been cheating this whole time."

William's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would Liam be mad at you over Alex? Wait, you know?!"

"Ugh!" I pull my hands away and look over at him. "Don't tell me you knew too? Why would you keep it from me? Why is everyone so okay with keeping me in the dark?"

William reaches out to me and grabs my hand. "I didn't, Cat! I swear it! If I had solid proof, I would have told you in a heartbeat."

"But you suspected?" I challenge.

"Didn't you?" he counters, and he's right, I did. I just didn't want to believe it was true. I didn't want to believe he would cheat on me. "Yes," I admit with a heavy heart.

"Well, I did too. I just couldn't prove it, and I knew you would never believe me without proof."

He's right about that, too. I definitely wouldn't have. I had it staring me right in the face and I had stayed in denial. "God only knows what he's exposed me to."

Suddenly, the baby springs to my mind. "The baby!" This time I do sit straight up in bed, though it makes the whole room spin.

"Is the baby...is everything alright?" I ask William, who is looking at me apologetically.

"I have nothing to tell you, Cat. There has been a nurse checking in on you and a doctor dropped by, but as you were still out, they just checked on you and moved on. No one has told me anything."

The curtain pulls back and I'm hoping to see a doctor, but it's Alex instead.

"Guess, I'm not who you were hoping to see," he says, sounding a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry. I was hoping for the doctor," I admit. "Thank you for going back and taking care of things for me, Alex. I owe you big time." I try to give him a reassuring smile.

"Seeing you awake right now, eyes open and smiling at me, is reward enough," Alex says, moving further in the room. "Do they know you're awake?"

"Um... no," I say. "I just woke up."

Alex nods and steps out of the curtain again. Seconds later, he returns. "I spoke with the nurse's station to let them know you're up. They said they will send someone in to check on you soon."

"Thank you!" I really don't know what I would do without him.

A nurse pulls back the curtain, and she pulls up a blood pressure machine. She places the cuff around my arm and it squeezes hard. She finishes and pulls off the cuff. "130 over 80 — better than when you came in, but still a little high."

She swabs the thermometer and places it in my mouth. "Your temperature is good." She checks my hands and feet for swelling and smiles. "Looks like you doing well. I'll get the doctor to come in and talk to you."

"Um." She's looking at William and Alex in the room. "There's really only supposed to be one person back here with her at a time. Emergency rooms can get tight sometimes, so would one of you mind..."

William volunteers. "Alex, you just got here. I'll step out. I need to get a bite to eat, anyway. Just... keep me posted, okay?" He kisses my forehead. "Hang in the there, Cat."

"Thank you," I say. 

"Anytime, Cat. You know that."

William gives Alex one of those bro hugs, you know, the handshake, pulls in and pat on the shoulder and leaves. The nurse disappears soon after, leaving me alone with Alex. He takes a position at my side and I can see the concern written clearly on his face.

"I'm okay." I try to reassure him.

He grabs my hand and squeezes it. "It's been a long time since I have felt that scared, Cat. One minute you were going ballistic on Liam and the next you just look at me and suddenly your eyes flutter and roll back in your head. I only had seconds to catch you or you would have hit the pavement. There was nothing I could do to bring you around."

I see his eyes fill up a bit, and I reach out to touch his face. "I'm so sorry." He presses his hand against mine and turns his face to kiss my palm.

"It's not your fault," he says, bringing my hand back to the bed but not relinquishing it. "But you don't know how grateful I am to see you awake right now. Cat, I..."

The doctor comes into the room. "Hello, Ms. Fischer. I'm Dr. Brenner." He reaches out his hand, and I have to take mine back from Alex to shake his hand.

"Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Better," I say, and he takes out a penlight and flashes it in my eyes. "Can you follow my finger?" I do as he instructs. "Still feeling dizzy?"

"A little," I admit.

"Your blood pressure was pretty high when they brought you in. I'm happy to see it's come down significantly. We were told that you might be pregnant."

I look over to Alex, knowing he's the one who must have informed them. He takes my hand back and squeezes it encouragingly. "That's right," I say.

"We did a blood test and your HCG levels are high, somewhere within the 1,100 - 56,000 mIU/ml range, so I can say you are most definitely pregnant. Now, an early sign of pregnancy is dizziness and fainting, but I don't like that blood pressure so I'm going to advise your OBGYN to keep a close eye on it during your pregnancy, to make sure it doesn't cause any complications for you."

"So, the baby is okay?" I ask.

"We don't know just yet. Now that you're awake, I'm sending you down for an ultrasound just to make certain. So, I want you to hang tight here and a nurse will take you to radiology in a few minutes. Do you have questions?"

I don't know what to ask. Alex speaks up. "Those levels you mentioned. Where does that put her, you know, week wise, in her pregnancy?"

Doctor Brenner looks at his chart. "Her levels are currently over 10,000 so that would put her at about... 6 six weeks, I'd say. The ultrasound will tell us more, as we can see the size of the baby too. Any other questions?" he asks, looking at me, and I just shake my head no. He pats my foot. "Okay then, hang tight. I will place the order for that ultrasound and we'll talk again before you're discharged."

I close my eyes and silently pray that my baby is okay. I feel Alex's hand on my forehead as he strokes back my hair and I just let him continue to do so because it's soothing my mind at the moment.

I open my eyes and he's smiling down at me. "Thanks so much for coming back," I tell him.

His smile widens. "I'm here until you tell me not to be."

I can't imagine ever telling him that. "You should probably text, William. I don't know where my phone is."

"Right!" Alex pulls out his phone and sends a quick text.

A nurse comes in with a wheelchair. "Ready for your ride to Ultrasound?" she asks and helps me out of bed. I know my gown is open in the back, exposing me to Alex, but thankfully I'm still wearing a bra and underwear. The nurse gets me in the chair and wheels me backwards into the hallway.

She pokes her head around the curtain and I hear her say, "You coming?"

"I can come too?" Alex asks. He peers around the curtain and looks to me for reassurance. I hold my hand out to him, which he takes, and together we go to the elevator.

We ride down together in silence, and the nurse drops me off in another waiting room. "They'll call you when they're ready for you and when you're done, I'll come back to pick you up."

"Thank you!" I tell her, and she smiles, waves and walks away.

I am so nervous right now and I know it must show because Alex sits down and moves my chair so I'm now directly in front of him.

"You must be pretty psyched right now," he states, taking my hands in his.

"If by psyched you mean scared out of mind then, yes."

"What do you have to be scared about?"

"What if there is something wrong? What if they can't find a heartbeat? What if they see it's an ectopic pregnancy? What if I caused...?"

Alex puts his finger to my lips, stopping me from finishing my question. "Don't ruin the moment with what-ifs, Cat. In a few moments, they are going to take you through one of those doors and you are going to get to see your baby for the first time."

I look at him with wonder. "How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?"

"How do you know just the right thing to say to make me feel, well, less like a crazy person?"

Alex laughs. "Life has taught me some very valuable lessons at a very early age."

"Well, I'm grateful for that and for you."

"Cat Fischer!"

I hear my name being called. "Here!" I say, raising my hand like I do when they take attendance in class. Alex laughs at me, and I stick my tongue out at him. He gets up and turns me around to wheel me over to the Technician.

"Follow me," she says, and Alex continues to wheel me into a tiny room with just enough space for a small bed, two chairs, and the ultrasound machine.

Alex is about to leave when the Tech says, "You're welcome to stay, Dad if you like? No need to go running off." She laughs.

He looks at me hesitantly, and I nod in agreement, so he takes a seat. I don't bother correcting the Tech just in case the only reason she's saying he can stay is that she thinks he's the father.

"Okay, Mom, I just need you to disrobe from the waist down and then lay down on that bed right over there and we can get started."

Mom. It is the first time I hear someone call me that, but I don't have a chance to process it, as her request takes me a little by surprise. That's when I notice the stir-ups for the first time. I suddenly get nervous as I realize this is NOT a normal ultrasound. I do as she asks, trying not to feel mortified.

The Tech, who is fiddling with the machine this entire time, reaches back and grabs a pillow. "Head up here, sweetie." She leans me back onto the pillow and my head is close to Alex, where he's been sitting patiently in the chair. He looks down and smiles encouragingly at me. My feet are now pointing away from him.

She covers my legs with a blanket. "I need you to bend your legs and put your feet in the stirrups. This is a wand," she tells me. "Because you're so early on, we have to do a vaginal ultrasound to get a clear picture of what's happening inside of you. The wand will be covered with a condom and some gel and then inserted about 2-3 inches. You may feel some minor discomfort, but that's normal. There is no radiation. The wand uses sound to produce the image, so it's perfectly safe for you and the baby. Okay, Cat?"

I feel a bit humiliated at the moment, but bite my tongue and nod my head. Too late to back out now.

"Okay then," she says, "let's get started."

I reach my hand up over my head and Alex grabs hold of it. I quickly get over my embarrassment and am just grateful I'm not doing this alone.

The Technician is working fast. I wonder what she is looking at, but she seems to be taking some kind of measurements. I wish I knew what is going on or what to expect. Getting brave and I ask, "Will I see the baby this early on?"

The Technician laughs. "Sweetie, you're looking at it."

I squint my eyes, but I can't make heads or tails of what is on that screen. She looks back and smiles at me. "Well, the baby isn't much to look at right now... but," she takes her pen and draws an imaginary circle around this shape that looks a little lima bean on her screen.

"That's it?" I ask, a little underwhelmed and feeling bad that I feel that way.

"Not impressed, huh?" she says with a grin. "Well then, how about this?" She turns a knob on her machine and I hear this fast-paced whooshing sound.

"What is that?" I ask, and her smile grows wider. "That is your baby's heartbeat. And it's got a strong heartbeat, too. Those beats are hard to find at this stage, Mom. So, this baby definitely wants to make sure you know he or she is here."

I freeze, just listening to the whooshing sound. "The heart is beating." I sigh, and Alex is smiling down at me. I didn't realize it until now, but I am practically crushing his hand and ease up my grip. He reaches over and wipes away the tears that escape from my eyes.

"Is it supposed to be that fast?" Alex asks, with absolute amazement on his face.

"Yep, between 90 and 110 beats per minute and this baby is currently at 108. Like I said, strong heart."

"Just like her mom," Alex says to me.

"Her, huh?" I say, and he just smiles and shrugs.

"Okay, all finished. Radiology will read the results and your doctor will talk to you about everything before you're discharged. I'll let you get dressed and you can head out to the waiting room," the Technician says, helping me to sit up.

I'm speechless. I just heard my baby's heartbeat.

The Tech steps out of the room and shuts the door. I slip off the bed and quickly pull on my underwear, grateful the length of the gown keeps anything from being revealed. All finished, I stand up straight and take a few deep breaths.

"You okay?" Alex says, reaching out to steady me. My mind and the world are spinning in sync, but I can't stop smiling.

"Okay? I just heard my baby's heartbeat!" I start to giggle and crying at the same time.

He gathers me to him and I can't stop giggling or crying and he laughs with me. "Let's get you out of here. Wouldn't want the nurse thinking we were up to something in here, by taking too long," he teases.

I giggle again and I take a seat in the wheelchair so he can push me out into the waiting room.

"All set, Cat?" the nurse asks, looking at the two of us when we arrive.

"Yep."

She takes over, pushing the chair, and Alex follows close behind. When we get to the room, Alex pulls out his phone. I'm guessing to send another text to William.

"The doctor will be in shortly."

Shortly turns out to be another hour. Finally, Dr. Brenner pushes back the curtain. "Well, congratulations Ms. Fischer, you are definitely pregnant and you have a viable pregnancy. From the look of things, the baby is right on target with how far along you should be and growing at a normal rate."

My hands cover my heart and belly as I just send up a quiet thank you to God.

"I will send the results to your OBGYN and I'll add my report about your blood pressure. I suggest you make an appointment for a follow up with him in about a week. Try to take it easy until then. Other than that, you're ready to go. I'll have your discharge papers ready for you in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Dr. Brenner," I say, and he smiles, shaking my hand and Alex's before leaving the room.

"I should go out and give William the good news so you have some privacy to get dressed," Alex says. "You need me to, um..." He turns his fingers in a circular motion for me to turn around.

I'm confused for a second until I realize I will need help with the ties on the back of my gown. "Oh! Yeah. Sure." I turn my back to him and he pulls the ties free. On one stubborn tie, his hand slightly brushes against my spine and I jump like it has given me an electric shock.

"Sorry," he says, "my hands are a little cold." I just nod, but I know that had nothing to do with it and everything to do with him touching me. I turn back around, holding the gown in place. He leans over and kisses my cheek.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of this, Cat. You mean... IT means... a lot to me." He grins at me and thumbs towards the hallway. "I'm going to get William now." And he turns on his heels and strolls towards the door.

"Alex?!" I call to him and he turns back to me. "Thank you! You know... for watching over me."

Alex smiles back that smile I love, nods and disappears through the EXIT doors.